The Messenger Study Guide

Ed Kennedy is an amazing character who has been through a lot of difficult things in his life. He is a high school dropout who lied about his age in order to get a job as a taxi driver. He rents an old shack to live in with his dog, the Doorman. He is so lonely that they drink coffee together every morning and eat together. He's in love with his friend Audrey but she refuses to love anyone and won't sleep with Ed because she "likes him too much." His father was a kind, gentle man, but an alcoholic who died six months ago. His mother is angry and bitter. His siblings are all over the place and are not really involved in his life in any way. He spends most of his free time with his friends playing cards and drinking. His mother thinks that he

In Markus Zusak’s “I am the Messenger” Ed shows coming of age by going through experiences that have been usually seen as for adults. He grew up with drunk parents and usually gets cursed out by his own mother. He one day gets a card with 3 addresses on them. The first one is a man who is drunk and repeatedly abuses his wife. Ed keeps coming back every night, seeing this same event occur periodically. He does nothing but watch; he’s petrified to step in.

Although Ed is described by his wife as the calm one in the relationship, after she leaves him he begins to become more hostile with his son. Christopher, while trying to figure out who killed his neighbor's dog, accidentally starts to uncover secrets about his mom and Ed. Christopher records everything that he does in a notebook, because he is trying to write a book. When Ed finds Christopher's notebook and reads that Christopher has been hearing things about his mother, Ed becomes scared that Christopher will find out more, and

Except, when he mistakenly foils a bank robbery he begins to receive aces that send him on missions. These missions require him to help different people in some way from giving company to an old lady, to filling up a service for a priest. They also direct him to help people in his community, friends, and family, with each mission also teaching Ed something. So when faced with the thief from earlier, and the person who has been sending him on these missions Ed comes to the same conclusion, that he has a life that he loves, with purpose, and he is not ready to give it up

Al is a very close friend of Min in which they tell everything to each other. He’s knows all about the problem with Ed and how much of a liar Ed can be, every time he tries to tell Min he can’t because he can see how much Min loves Ed

Throughout the book our admiration is growing towards Ed, but a deus ex machina occurs and we begin to respect Zusak just as much as we respected Ed. This happens as a result of us already having developed a level of respect towards the Messenger as they believed in helping other people and living a life that was worth every moment. Ed does not make the connection straight away, but at the very end of the novel we see Ed reach his anagnorisis that he, is the message. The message being to not waste his life, 'keep living' and to live his 'life beyond the pages [of the folder]'. For Zusak being able to really drive the message home to Ed has built our respect and our admiration towards

Throughout the story, Ed is hit with a bunch of problem and conflict he was often scared and nervous to what would happen to him if it didn’t go right and what the next message would be, one example of this as listed in the book by the author

Eddie came to peace with his life and his death. Throughout his life he felt like he was stuck at Ruby Pier, unhappy and doing the same thing over and over again. When he gets to heaven he does not understand why he died. He thinks his life was boring and unimportant and his death was a waste because he does not even know if he saved Amy or Annie. Going through his five people, each with a different lesson to help teach Eddie why certain things happened,

Mental illness may also lead him to misbehave. Mel and Terri are arguing the reason why Ed kills himself at the beginning of the story. He mentions that “He took this twenty-two pistol he’d bought to threaten Terri and me with. Oh, I’m serious, the man was always threatening.”(Carver). This paper describes Ed several times to commit suicide, for the first time with rat poison, the second time with gun, and ultimately ended his life. As a doctor, Mel assumes that this guy has problems. This series of unusual

Yet, Ed proved, through his actions, that he was a capable individual as he single-handedly halted the gunman’s escape. However, Ed refuses to reflect upon his identity with maturity and, instead, reprimands himself as he undervalues the heroic deed in which he had done. This is depicted as he states: “Constantly, I’m asking myself, Well Ed -- what have you really achieved in your nineteen years? The answer’s simple.

He realizes that he has failed make Erica love him and sends her an apology for which he

The first discussion was about Terri's ex. Terri says that, the night Ed beat her, he told her, "I love you, I love you, you bitch" while was pulling her around the room. How are you going to beat someone and drag them around the room and at the same time say I love you. When you love someone you never want them to get hurt but it's the opposite with Terri’s ex. Terrie’s ex Ed tried to kill himself. One time it was with rat poison,

The address of 45 Edgar Street leads to something one could never imagine. Ed has come to overcome the hostility, and heal those who are in need of his help. Although Ed does not understand how or why, he senses that he most definitely has to help the problem in which he encountered: “How do people live like this? How do they survive? And maybe that’s why I’m here. What if they can’t anymore?” (Zusak 43). For the daughter and wife sake, Ed realizes he must remove the violence from their lives, with the constant rape and beatings. 45 Edgar Street shows Ed the more evil parts of the world and how his home life as a child was better than what these two innocent people go through every night, even when he thought his couldn’t be worse. With the help of the unknown message giver, Ed receives a gun. With that gun, Ed then threatens the man and finally pulls the trigger. This was a trepidation for Ed, but without

In regards to Ed, Shelly repeats what she had said to Mort all those years back. Later Maura and Shelly’s announcement that they design to “ease Ed into the subsequent transition,” Ali resists. Maura points out that Shelly is paining and that the children don’t notice. Josh says that he calls, and Shelly breaks down, “I don’t desire you to call me. I desire you to be here.” She points to Maura and says that “he’s the merely one who comes.” Maura corrects her to “she.” Sarah recommends including the rabbi, at that point but Josh pulls out his phone and explains he can text her. That considerably lightens the mood after they all find out that he’s been, in their words, “f—ing the

First to portray on how this depicts the theme is shown through symbols. The story begins by showing boys playing with rocks, piled in the collection of importance. One the boys named Bobby Martin leads, “eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner.” Stones that are protected and cared for in importance, until the event takes place. Unfolding an idea in the stones, that lay bare for a time, but now are armed for a purpose. As the host arrives, so does the ‘tradition as there was represented by the black box.” The box is kept since the begging of this timeless event and is kept with pride amongst the people. Well-hidden through town shops, along showing sophistication towards the host when boldly showing towards the people. Black in